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SALT LAKE CITY -- A game after he scored a career-high 43 points, nothing seemed to be going right for Paul George. Air Jordan 1 Retro Australia . Fighting a cold, his chest was burning and he couldnt seem to catch his breath. To make matters worse, his reliable shooting stroke was faltering. "It was so hard to find my wind but I didnt want to make any excuses. I tried to play through it and find a way to will us to a win tonight," said George, who scored 19 points as the Indiana Pacers returned to their defensive ways in beating the Utah Jazz 95-86 on Wednesday. George and Pacers primarily did it with defence as they usually do. "We struggled but we stuck with what we do best," said George, who had a key steal and dunk moments after the Jazz got within two points midway through the final period. "We made those guys take tough shots and, over time, those shots start to get a little short or a little long. Our defence played a huge part in us getting this win." Lance Stephenson scored 15 points, Luis Scola had 14 and Roy Hibbert added 13 points to win in Utah for the first time since an 84-60 victory on Nov. 29, 2005. The Pacers were coming off their first back-to-back games of the season in which they allowed their opponent to reach 100 points -- L.A. Clippers and Portland. But Indiana outscored the Jazz 27-19 in the fourth quarter and parlayed 14 Utah turnovers in 20 points. "They pushed us off our spots," Utah coach Tyrone Corbin said. "They put pressure on us a little bit and threw off our rhythm." Gordon Haywards 3-pointer cut the Indiana lead to 79-76 before the Pacers scored nine straight points, capped by Wests 20-foot jumper that just beat the shot clock, and never looked back. "We made the better plays down the stretch. We got what we wanted, getting open shots because we executed in the fourth quarter," West said. Derrick Favours led Utah with 22 points and 13 rebounds and Enes Kanter had 20 points and 10 boards for the Jazz, who had won three of their last four games. Hayward and George, who have worked out together in the summers and were picked ninth and 10th in the 2010 draft, both struggled with their shooting against each others tenacious defence. "Its always fun playing against Gordon because hes one of the few guys in this league that never lets up. I know I always have my hands full when I face him," George said. When George finally made a 3-pointer -- his first in eight attempts -- with 53 seconds left, he paused and pointed skyward in relief at seeing one drop. "I pointed up to the basketball gods and thanked them. It was just a relief. I wasnt able to shoot the ball well and I was just fatigued out there," said George, who finished 7 of 20 from the field after an acrobatic layup with 21 seconds remaining. Hayward made only 3 of 14 shots and finished with 12 points. "They are good defensively. They challenged a lot of shots at the rim and forced us to shoot over the top and we just couldnt knock them down," Hayward said. Behind 10 points each from Kanter and Favours, the Jazz built an 11-point lead in the first half that evaporated to 48-47 by halftime. Led by Stephenson, the Pacers used an 18-4 run bridging the second and third quarters to move in front. The Pacers are the top defensive team in the league -- holding opponents to 39.5 per cent shooting and 87.6 points per game -- but they allowed the Clippers to score 100 points in a win and the Blazers 106 points in a loss on the current five-game road trip. "It was a really good win for our guys, kind of a grind-it-out type of game," Indiana coach Frank Vogel said. Power forwards Marvin Williams (foot) and Jeremy Evans (flu) sat out the game for the Jazz but Utah attacked the Pacers for three quarters and led 69-68 after Kanters layup to open the fourth quarter. But the deeper into the fourth period they went, the more difficult it was for the Jazz to score. The Pacers disrupted the Jazz offensive sets and when Utah found open looks they misfired down the stretch. "The altitude and my asthma kicked me in the rear to begin with. But I got my second wind and I was trying to be a defensive presence," said Hibbert, who blocked two shots and altered several others. The Pacers tough trip concludes with a back-to-back set against San Antonio on Saturday and Oklahoma City a day later. NOTES: Jazz rookie Trey Burke had a career-high nine assists. . Stephenson, upset with an offensive foul call in the fourth quarter, threw the ball over his shoulder and got a technical foul. . Kanter looked as if he threw Hibbert to the floor in the final two minutes but Hibbert gave a sly smile, indicating he may have helped sell the call. . Though he travelled with the team, Danny Granger has only played five games this season for the Pacers due to a strained calf and is still inactive. Air Jordan 1 For Sale Australia . LOUIS -- The St. Air Jordan 1 Online Store . -- Once again, Carlos Santana was a huge hit in Kansas City. http://www.wholesaleairjordan1australia.com/ . In question is whether 26-year-old Matt Frattin will be on it. A a€?mediocrea€? training camp, as Carlyle put it earlier this week, has Frattin lingering nervously on the bubble at the end of the exhibition season, pushed out of a likely job by Brandon Kozun, the small, but feisty winger determined to make the NHL for the first time. OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma City Thunder apparently can win ugly, too. The Thunder blew most of a 16-point lead in the final six minutes Sunday night against the Orlando Magic but hung on for a 101-98 win, the 12th in the row to start the season at home for Oklahoma City. The Thunder are the first team in the NBA to open the season with 12 straight home wins since the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2008, according to STATS. The franchise last started 12-0 at home to open the 1993-94 season, when the team was located in Seattle. Kevin Durant had 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists, and Russell Westbrook added 20 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for Oklahoma City, which has won six straight overall and 14 of its last 15. The Thunder have beaten the Magic in five straight meetings. But Orlando made it interesting, taking advantage of miscues and missed shots by the Thunder to close the game on an 18-5 run. The Magics Glen Davis missed a potential tying 3-point attempt in the final seconds and Oklahoma Citys Serge Ibaka blocked a follow by Nikola Vucevic. "I thought our defence was just up and down throughout the night and then we didnt do a great job of executing down the stretch," Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. "Those are things that we have to continue to work on and do a much better job with that. I think we have been doing a great job of that up until tonight." The Thunders 12-game home winning streak matches their second-longest since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City. The Thunder won 14 in a row at Chesapeake Energy Arena from January-March 2012. Arron Afflalo scored 25 points and Vucevic had 13 points and 16 rebounds for his 11th double-double this season for Orlando. The Magic, losers in 11 of their 13 road games this season, proved an unlikely threat to Oklahoma Citys home dominance. "Just good defence by (the Thunder) on our last possession and give them credit for that," Orlando coach Jacque Vaughn said. "Overall, our guys really believed from beginning to end that we were going to win that game and thats a good start for us." Durant denied that the Thunder were complacent against Orlando. "They kept fighting to the end," he said. "We got some tough breaks, but we were glad we fought it out and got a win. Air Jordan 1 For Sale Cheap. . They made a couple of runs but we were able to take the punch and keep pushing." A putback by Tobias Harris capped a 9-0 run by Orlando that tied the game at 45-45 with 3:38 left in the first half. After a timeout, Durant scored nine points in an 11-1 spurt by Oklahoma City and the Thunder led 56-49 at halftime. Orlando was within 67-62 after a 3-pointer by Jameer Nelson with 6:21 left in the third quarter, but Thabo Sefolosha had a follow dunk and a driving layup during a 16-7 run near the end of the quarter. Oklahoma City led 96-80 after a layup by Westbrook with 6:11 left. The Magic scored eight straight points and cut the margin to 96-88 on a basket by Victor Oladipo with 3:58 left. Durant answered by feeding Westbrook for a layup, then grabbed a rebound off a miss by Nelson and drove the length of the court for a layup with 3:10 left. That proved to be the Thunders final basket, as they missed their final five shots and turned the ball over twice after that. Oklahoma City finished with 13 turnovers. Nelson hit a 3-pointer - with Westbrook defending - with 31.9 seconds left to pull Orlando within 100-96 with 31.9 seconds to go. Westbrook turned the ball over moments later, leading to a basket by Maurice Harkless with 22.3 seconds left. Durant made 1 of 2 free throws with 13 seconds remaining to extend the Thunders lead to 101-98. Davis missed a 3-point attempt and Vucevic tried to tip the ball in. Vucevic initially was awarded a basket on a goaltending call against Ibaka with 1.3 seconds left. After a video review, officials overturned their call and ruled there should be a jump ball at centre court between Ibaka and Vucevic. The tip went to Harris, but his 3-point attempt came after the buzzer. "We had our chance to take it to overtime," Afflalo said. "It would have been great momentum for us. . It just didnt happen." NOTES: The Pacers can improve to 12-0 at home when they host Detroit on Monday night. ... Sefolosha returned to the starting lineup after missing three games due to a sprained knee. He finished with six points in 23:01. . Oklahoma City recorded its 100th straight sellout at Chesapeake Energy Arena, which seats 18,203. . Davis left the game holding his left shoulder with 2:06 left but returned in the final seconds. ' ' '
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